Shaping a legally aware and ethically responsible hospitality workforce

Purpose There has been a notable shift towards interdisciplinary teaching-learning methodologies. Interdisciplinary teaching in hospitality education integrates law with sociology, psychology and political science to meet the industry’s people-centric demands. This study examines its evolution, significance, challenges and future scope, highlighting how such integration strengthens ethical understanding, legal competence, innovation, employability and readiness for complex global legal challenges. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a qualitative, exploratory methodology to examine strategies and challenges in developing a legally informed and ethically responsible hospitality workforce. It is based on semi-structured interviews with 50–80 purposively selected stakeholders across the hospitality and legal sectors. The research captures lived experiences, ensures representation, achieves data saturation and generates nuanced insights into effective legal and ethical capacity-building practices. Findings The study concludes by arguing that interdisciplinary education represents a transformative paradigm shift in education, offering new opportunities to contribute to a more holistic understanding of concepts and promote social justice, equity and more employment opportunities in an increasingly complex hospitality sector. Research limitations/implications The study’s qualitative design may involve interpretive subjectivity, addressed through multi-researcher analysis. Context-specific participant settings limit generalisability, while time and resource constraints may restrict the depth and breadth of data collection and analysis. Originality/value The study revolves around the implications of interdisciplinary education for pedagogy and curriculum development in line with the National Education Policy 2020, with special reference to the law and hospitality sectors.